Bury Your Dead (episode)
Bury Your Dead is the premiere episode of NCIS Season 5 and also the ninety-fifth episode of the entire NCIS series. Synopsis As Jenny's undercover operation hits a hurdle, she's forced to disclose Tony's role in the operation to Gibbs, McGee and Ziva, all of whom are left stunned by the truth concerning Tony's mysterious and unexpected disappearances at times. As they rally around and attempt to capture the Frog once and for all, an unthinkable tragedy strikes but all is not what it seems.. Prologue The series opens with a recap detailing what happened in NCIS Season 4 and ends with the final scene from the Season 4 finale episode, Angel of Death (episode) where Jeanne introduces Tony to her father who's revealed to be none other than René Benoit aka La Grenouille- the Frog. It then cuts to Tony who smiles but looks grim-faced. Act One It's morning and as light creeps in through the blinds, bathing the office in light, it shows various items on NCIS Director Jennifer Shepard's desk including a coffee on top of a file and a suitcase that's open. It then pans to Jenny's computer and the clock that says 7:12am before it shows Jenny's locker open with her SIG-Sauer on display. It then shows a full shot of Jenny sitting in her chair, fast asleep but as it pans to Jenny's face, it's shown that she's twitching and moving slightly, suggesting her dream is not peaceful. In a flashback, it shows the table in Jenny's house and someone taking a gun from the cabinet where it's shown the man is Jenny's father, Colonel Jasper Shepard. Jenny herself is heading downstairs. As this happens, Colonel Shepard moves across the room, still holding the gun and raises it to his forehead while also closing his eyes, suggesting that he is about to commit suicide. In the hall, Jenny holds her hands up to her hair, obviously tormented with Jenny reaching the ground floor seconds later. The gun clicks. Seconds later, it fires. As this happen, Jenny disappears in a haze of smoke. Meanwhile, Colonel Shepard slumps back onto the seat, dead and it's revealed that the man who shot him is none other than La Grenouille. The intense nightmare then causes Jenny to wake up and she sits up, gasping for breath before she looks down and upon seeing her locker open, she slams it shut. Meanwhile, the limo containing DiNozzo, his girlfriend Jeanne and Jeanne's father, Rene is driving through downtown Washington D.C. Inside, Jeanne remarks that her father knows everything about Tony. La Grenouille simply states that it's only what his daughter tells him. Jeanne remarks that she tells her father everything. Tony just laughs and everyone shares a laugh with Tony remarking that's great. Once the laughter's settled, Tony states that they're on their way to... before wondering where exactly are they headed? La Grenouille remarks that he doesn't know before looking at Jeanne and suggesting breakfast? Jeanne just shrugs. La Grenouille states that it's a chance for them to get to know each other and he's sure Tony has lots of questions. Tony just looks slightly caught off-guard. La Grenouille then admits that he does. Jeanne tells her father or "Papa" that it's her apartment first and that he wouldn't believe the night they've had before stating that it was very frightening. Knowing he's in danger, Tony grabs his back-up cell-pocket from his pocket and tells La Grenouille or Mr. Benoit that his daughter is very impressive with a scalpel. La Grenouille tells Tony to call him "Rene". Jeanne then tells Tony that Tony never told her he could shoot. Tony lies, remarking that he can't, clearly and that he missed. Jeanne remarks that it was on purpose. La Grenouille is concerned, wondering if there was a shooting in the hospital. Tony then tells La Grenouille or "Rene" that it's a long story. La Grenouille states that they have all weekend. Tony remarks that it's more of Jeanne's long story than Tony's. La Grenouille looks at Jeanne who explains that there was a crazy young guy who tried to smuggle heroin into the country and he got hit by a car and that one of the bags in the guy's stomach burst but the doctor didn't know that until it was too late and then... Suddenly, Jeanne stops and grabs her pager. She then checks her pager, revealing to the two men that she forgot to sign the death certificate to release the body. La Grenouille raises his hand. Jeanne then apologizes. La Grenouille then tells Henri Rousseau, the driver to go back to the hospital. Henri agrees. As that happens, Tony remarks that he guesses breakfast is going to have to wait. La Grenouille remarks and all those intriguing questions. Tony just nods. At NCIS, NCIS/Mossad Liaison Officer, Ziva David arrives for work and as she leaves, she meets McGee. The two ask one another what they're doing here and McGee responds by stating it's too close to call given that his parents raised him to be a gentleman and Ziva's raised her to be a killer. He then tells Ziva he was de-fragging his computer. Ziva doesn't buy it and then storms into the bullpen, noticing the food on McGee's desk. She then realizes that he's been here all night. She then voices her concern about Tony, stating he was supposed to meet her at a bar but he didn't arrive and he didn't call either. As such, Ziva's worried about him and she's been trying to get a hold of him but no luck. NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs walks in and Ziva starts ranting about how teams are not supposed to keep secrets but when she starts threatening Gibbs, telling him that if he doesn't tell her what's going on.. Ziva then changes her mind, instead vowing that McGee will. The limo's arrived back at the hospital and Tony insists on going with Jeanne but Jeanne demands Tony stay with her father. As Jeanne heads off, Tony and La Grenouille then go to get some coffee. In the lab, Abigail Sciuto is fast asleep, using her farting hippo, Bert as a pillow, Jenny sneaks in. Not wanting to wake Abby, Jenny checks the computer to see if they've gotten a match off the fingerprints on the bottle and finds that they belong to her father. She deletes the search and Abby wakes up. Upon seeing Jenny, Abby then apologizes for falling asleep. Suddenly, Jenny's cell-phone suddenly rings and Jenny then realizes that it's a call from Tony's alias and when Abby asks if there was a match, Jenny covers it up by lying, stating, "No" before leaving the lab. Abby is disappointed that her machines did all that work for nothing but once she heads to her computer, she then reads a message on the screen that says "Do you want to delete search results?". Abby hits "No" and the profile and match for Jenny's father appears. Abby simply takes one look at the screen and then states to herself in a tone laced with disbelief that this is not good. Up in the squad room, Ziva wants to know why the CIA are after Jenny. Gibbs's reply is "You tell me" and it suddenly hits Ziva that they're protecting La Greouille who's an asset of theirs. Ziva then asks if Jenny knows. Jenny heads into the bullpen, stating "Know what?". McGee tries to cover for them by stating that it's a Saturday and they're here on their day-off because they're highly devoted to their jobs. Jenny then asks McGee to get a fix on a number which he agrees to do for her with Jenny reciting the number and as this happens, Gibbs wonders if Tony's in trouble. Ziva grimly states that she knew it. Jenny then informs them that the woman that Tony was seeing, Jeanne Benoit is La Grenouille's daughter. From his desk, McGee then looks up and stunned, figures out that Tony's been on assignment. Unsurprisingly, Gibbs gets in Jenny's face, stating that she was going to tell them about this at some point. Jenny agrees, stating that if it led them to her father, then yes. Gibbs then wonders if she wants to tell them what she does know. Jenny remarks that Tony contacted her using his alisas's cell and the number was a pre-arranged signal he could use in case of emergencies or if Tony believed that his cover had been blown. The team glance at Tony DiNardo (alias)'s name which is on the monitor and Ziva remarks that the aliases is "cute". Jenny also wants the position sent to MTAC and full satellite coverage as well. As she, Gibbs and Ziva leave the bullpen, McGee then gets to work with the blip showing that Tony's at Monroe University Hospital. Back at the Hospital, Tony and La Grenouille are drinking coffee while waiting Jeanne to emerge. La Grenouille wants to know what Jeanne told Tony about him and then asks Tony if he's going to break her heart. Tony states that he doesn't plan on it. Jeanne then emerges, happy and stating that they've got to go before she gets called back again. Tony then realizes he has to move his car with La Grenouille ordering him to stay close so they don't lose him. Tony silently gets into the car. Back into MTAC, the team are busy tracking Tony's whereabouts and having no luck whatsoever in regards to his cell phones which have all gone straight to voicemail so far. Gibbs asks Jenny how far Tony's cover goes. Jenny tells him it's deep enough to shield him from La Grenouille's intense examination. Gibbs tells Jenny that she'd better hope so. The team then spend the next few minutes trailing the car through various traffic cameras placed around the city and realize that Tony has no-one tailing although Gibbs believes Tony's doing the tailing. However, as Tony's car turns a corner, it explodes, causing everyone to get into their feet as they watch the scene unfold. "Oh my God", Jenny whispers. "Tony!", Ziva says. It then cuts to Jenny who looks horrified. Act Two The team have all arrived at the crime scene and after getting themselves together, begin processing the scene. At the damaged car, Gibbs then looks at the unrecognizable body behind the wheel of the destroyed and burnt car before calling McGee over to take photos. Jenny glances at the wreckage and notices a timer. NCIS Medical Examiner Donald Mallard approaches and states that the shockwave would have killed him before the fire began. Jenny then asks about identifying the body and Ducky grimly says that while the height, weight and general build are a match for Tony's, they'll need dental records since fingerprints aren't an option. Ducky then asks her if there's any chance it isn't Tony although Jenny replies, "None I can think of" before walking away. Ziva gets Tony's ID and shield from the car. Back in the lab, Abby has Tony's belongings spread on a table and states that Tony isn't dead, not until Ducky has confirmed it's him. She then hugs Gibbs, begging him to tell her it's not Tony but Gibbs simply tells her that he wish he could. Abby then prepares to get back to work and then tells Gibbs to go. Just as Gibbs prepares to leave, he spots the bottle of Scotch and with a glove on his right hand, asks Abby about them. Abby then states that the Director brought it in and swore her to secrecy so she can't tell Gibbs anything. Gibbs then angrily states if there's any more secrets she can't tell him. Abby assures him it's just that one. Gibbs wonders who the match is with Abby reluctantly telling Gibbs that it's Jenny's father. Gibbs is in denial at first, stating that Jenny's father has been dead for twelve years. Abby then heads over to her computer and brings up the match, pointing to the monitor. As she does, she tells Gibbs that that's a ten-point match and these are new prints before telling Gibbs that there is no way Director Shepard's father is dead. Later in her office, Jenny is looking out the window and tells Gibbs she buried her father. She's also accepted that he's not coming back but someone is going to great lengths to convince her that her father is alive. Gibbs then brings up the polygraph and states if she knows who the CIA are targeting. Jenny knows it's her and she isn't worried. Gibbs then states that if they ask her about her father, any doubt or any hesitation is going to raise a red flag. He then asks about Operation Lodestone which Jenny states is CIA, an operation focused on arms control and weapons proliferation. Jenny then states that her father's job at the Pentagon was in the field of arms control and that he was being investigated for accepting a bride when he was killed. Gibbs argues that Colonel Shepard took his own life with Jenny stating that her father was murdered. Gibbs demands proof but Jenny has none and she's certain she knows who's responsible. Gibbs then retorts with if it's the same guy she sent one of his agents after. Jenny argues that it's one of HER agents and that it was a deep, undercover operation that she ran on a need-to-know basis and as Gibbs heads for the door, Jenny tells him that he's wrong to believe that she's obsessed with La Grenouille because of what happened to her father. Gibbs simply states that she ought to skip the polygraph test before leaving, slamming the door behind him. Jenny just stands there, her face giving nothing away. Back in the bullpen, McGee is watching the explosion although Ziva is disheartened. The two do some checking and eventually spot a limo that Tony is seemingly following. In the morgue, Ducky's removing shrapnel from the lung tissue of the corpse while his assistant, James Palmer is writing things down. Suddenly, the phone rings and Palmer announces that the blood tests have arrived. Palmer heads over to check them and realizes that the blood type of the corpse and that of Tony's match. Ducky then states that the lungs show minimal scarring which Palmer notes before getting an idea. He then discovers that the lungs he's studying have never had Y. pestis, the pneumonic plague and the two men are overjoyed at the news. Ducky then leaves to head up to the bullpen to deliver the news. Ziva's connected the limo to La Grenouille and states Tony might have been following him. Ducky arrives, stating it wasn't Tony and then gives a recap of what happened when Tony got the plague although Ziva adds it was before her time. The lungs of the body Ducky is examining have no scarring of any kind which means there's a strong chance DiNozzo's still alive. "If it's not Tony, then who is it?", Jenny begins. "And where is DiNozzo?", Gibbs finishes. It then cuts to Gibbs who's still waiting to hear an answer. Act Three In the squad-room, Jenny is studying the plasma and is demanding to know everything there is to know about La Greouille's shell company including their bank statements, telephone records and personnel. McGee tells her that the hard-drive's coming up right now. "Everything, Tim", Jenny says. "If La Grenouille is in D.C, this could lead us to him". Gibbs gets up and reminds her of DiNozzo. Jenny tells him that obviously, DiNozzo is the first priority but it's clear that she's more fixated on getting the Frog than searching for Tony. Gibbs then dispatches Ziva to call to the hospital which she does. Seconds later, Kort arrives in, demanding to know where DiNozzo is. Jenny then tells him she doesn't know where DiNozzo and demands to know it's so urgent. Kort then tells them that La Grenouille flew to D.C this morning and he never made to his safehouse to D.C and that his satellite phone has stopped transmitting altogether. "Mislaid your arms dealer?", Gibbs says. "That's gotta be embarrassing". Kort gives Gibbs the evil-eye and then demands a private briefing with Jenny immediately. Jenny ignores the request, telling Kort she's going to decide when the briefing's going to be held and if Kort gets one. She also reminds him that if he has a problem with that, then why doesn't his Director give her a call? Kort then tells her she's jeopardizing one of the most important operations the Agency has ever conducted. Gibbs then mentions Operation Lodestone while Kort tells him they weren't read into it. Jenny demands they be read in and Kort tells Jenny that this can't end well for her before leaving the bullpen to head for the lift. Unsurprisingly, Gibbs, Jenny, Ziva and McGee are hot on Kort's heels with Gibbs stating that Tony's car was bombed this morning and does Kort know anything about it? Kort tells him DiNozzo wasn't in it and brings up the elevator. Once it opens, it's shown that Tony is standing there, grinning at Kort before stating, "Hey, my car blew up this morning. Did you do that?". Kort loses patience and slams Tony against the wall, demanding to know where he went with La Grenouille. Tony coughs and makes a single gestures. Kort then looks over and sees that Gibbs, McGee and Ziva have drawn their guns. Furthermore, the weapons are aimed at Kort himself. Realizing he's in a mess, Kort lets Tony go and Tony states, "Happy frog-hunting!" before turning to meet his colleagues and states, "What, no balloons?". In Jenny's office, Tony's telling Gibbs and Jenny what happened. He reveals that La Grenouille was waiting for them once they left the hospital and that it was Jeanne's secret. Tony believes that Kort is the one who blew his cover to the Frog and Tony attempted to flee in his car, only for La Grenouille to stop him by calling him "Agent DiNozzo". A flashback then shows that Henri Rousseau, La Grenouille's bodyguard was the one who drove Tony's car and as such, was the one killed in the explosion which means that Rousseau's badly burnt body is what is down in the NCIS morgue. Tony witnessed the whole thing happening from the limo. La Grenouille believed that he was the target but Tony stated he was probably one, having pissed off the CIA lately and also states that the bomb blew away lots of things. Jenny then asks about Jeanne and what way would it end? "Other than badly?", Tony snaps. Jenny reminds Tony that he wasn't supposed to fall in love with Jeanne. Tony sarcastically thanks her for the advice and tells her he'll remember it for the next time but there won't be a next time. Jenny wants to know what Jeanne told him but Tony refuses to tell and insists it's nothing she needs to know. Gibbs just sits there, proud that Tony's standing up to Jenny. Tony then tells them that La Grenouille left him at the front gate and then drove west, very fast. He also states that the Frog doesn't think he has a future in arms-dealing and that he wants out of the business which explains Kort's need to find him and the CIA's going to lose their most prized asset which in turn will jeopardize Lodestone even further. Tony states that La Grenouille's going to be calling to set up a meeting and when pressed, states that it's because NCIS is the only agency the Frog trusts. Down in the squad room, Ziva's on the phone, asking about Jeanne when McGee arrives with a coffee for Ziva. Still on the phone, Ziva silently nods in thanks. Tony arrives into the bullpen but not before giving McGee a Headslap. McGee wonders what was that for? Tony tells him it was for McGee believing that Tony was dead. McGee stands his ground, insisting that he never accepted Tony's death and tells Tony that Ziva was the one who gave up on him which gets him a punch in the arm from Ziva. Tony glares at Ziva who tells him, "Don't even think about the head-slap" before asking him if everything's cool between the Director and Gibbs. Tony simply states things are beyond cool and almost icy before dialing his phone and asking if anyone called for him. Ziva says no and that if he's calling the hospital to call Jeanne, she isn't there. She told them she was leaving for a few days and didn't tell them where she was going. "She knows?", Ziva asks. "She knows", Tony replies. Abby rushes in and hugs Tony much to his discomfort. She then tells him that everyone gave up on him, even Ziva. Ziva stands her ground, insisting that she may acted a little hastily. Tony realizes that Ziva is holding his letter opener. Abby helpfully supplies with the fact that Palmer has his American Pie coffee-mug and his Mighty Mouse stapler is in Ducky's possession. And low and behold, Ducky is standing over the wall, handing it back to him. "My dear fellow. I never believed it for a moment", he says. "Welcome home". "It's not every day people think you're dead, DiNozzo", Gibbs replies, wandering in. Abby then tells him she's figured out who blew up the car belonging to Tony's aliases. It then cuts to the lab when Abby tells them that bombers are very picky when it comes to setting their bombs. She also reveals that she made the match on Interpol and that it's connected to a series of bombs which have gone off around the world, the locations being Algeria, Indonesia, the Middle East, Chechnya. "Anything linking the victims?", Ziva asks. Abby tells her that they were all arms dealers. McGee remarks that there's only one problem: Tony's not an arms dealer. Gibbs then states that Tony's girlfriend's father is an arms dealer. Tony tells them that Jeanne's been working nights and he picked her up every morning for breakfast. Ziva then tells them that the bombers would strap the bomb to the car, set the timer and then walk away which means that Tony wasn't the target: Jeanne was. "Maybe she still is", Tony states. Gibbs then dispatches Tony to look for her with Ziva accompanying him. Jenny heads into her home and answers her cell-phone. It's none other than her enemy, La Grenouille who tells her he wants to meet her with La Grenouille also stating that it's long overdue. She asks him where and when. She then turns around and it's shown that La Grenouille is in her study, talking to her on his phone. "Hello, Jenny", he says. It then cuts to Jenny who stands there, staring at La Grenouille. Act Four Tony and Ziva arrive at Jeanne's apartment with Tony calling for Jeanne but there's no response of any kind. Tony hits a light and finds that a closet that was full of Jeanne's clothing is almost empty except for a few clothes. In Jenny's study, the two finally come face-to-face. La Grenouille compliments Jenny on pursuing him and states that he liked Tony. Jenny demands to know what he's here for. La Grenouille gets straight to the point, telling Jenny he wants sanctuary, asylum and in exchange he'll give them information on the arms trade. Gibbs then appears and asks if the Frog is simply seeking protection from the same people who tried to kill his daughter in the bombing. La Grenouille agrees and tells them Jeanne's safe for the time being. Gibbs wants to know what Lodestone has to do with this and La Grenouille tells him that the CIA are hoping to make him the biggest arms dealer. With that statement, Gibbs realizes that if that happens, then Rene's going to control the running of the illegal arms trade and that the CIA are going to control him too. La Grenouille tells him that was the plan but then NCIS came along and someone else found out about the whole thing. As a result, La Grenouille can't trust the CIA or Kort anymore. Jenny puts her row in, stating that this isn't the first time La Grenouille's been in the study. La Grenouille then admits that he met her father and that Jasper Shepard was a good man with a conscience that somehow managed to get the better of him. Jenny asks about the story regarding the bribe and La Grenouille tells her it's not a story which means that he did pay Jenny's father a bribe. "No, you killed him", Jenny snaps, pulling her gun out. "Because he wouldn't take it". Gibbs then tells Jenny the gun isn't loaded because La Grenouille beat her to it. La Grenouille insists that he needs protection. Unsurprisingly, Jenny shoves the gun at him, telling him to take the damn gun and protect himself. La Grenouille tells her she's signing his death warrant. "Twelve years overdue!", Jenny states. Once La Grenouille has left, Gibbs tells Jenny that she let her personal obsession get in the way of her duty. Jenny ignores him, telling him that the statement is crap and he knows it: they had no warrant whatsoever. Gibbs angrily tells Jenny to get a warrant and she tells him to get one himself. Gibbs demands to know what would've happened if the gun wasn't unloaded? If he hadn't shown up, would she have pulled the trigger? "I guess we'll never know", Jenny says. Gibbs produces the clip from his pockets, puts it on the table and leaves. At Jeanne's apartment, Tony discovers a note Jeanne has left for him. He then asks Ziva if she's ever lied to someone she loves, and if they forgave her. Ziva tells him she has but that person never found out. Tony states that he told Jeanne after the car blew up because Jeanne had realized that he was someone else. Ziva tells him she'll put a BOLO and that they will find her. "She doesn't want to be found", Tony replies. As Ziva leaves, Tony sinks to the floor, still holding the letter while glancing around the apartment that he and Jeanne once shared together. The next day, Ziva tries to get a hold of Tony, stating if he had taken time off, he would have told them. Gibbs arrives into the bullpen and tells her Tony is taking time off while also stating that there's always more work to be done when they're a man down. McGee has found a yacht La Grenouille is renting and he reveals that someone with a French accent has been staying there recently. Ziva then reveals that she has a warrant and that it may be not stop a legal challenge from the agency (CIA). Gibbs states that he'd like to see them try. With that, the three grab their belongings and leave the bullpen, heading straight for the yacht. A while later and once they've gotten to the boat, they split up, searching for any areas with Gibbs and Ziva taking the lower areas while McGee stays in the main area as they attempt to find where La Grenouille could be. However, their search finds the yacht completely empty but Gibbs has found La Grenouille's coat which means that he was there after all. As they leave, McGee's hopeful that they'll catch up with him, eventually. Ziva believes that someone will. Gibbs vows one day. With that, Gibbs, Ziva and McGee leave. Once they've gone and after a small amount of time has passed, the camera then leaves the boat, heading out to the water where La Grenouille is seen floating in the water and it's also shown that he's dead with a single gunshot wound in the center of his forehead. He then sinks underneath the water. It then cuts to an overhead shot of the river as La Grenouille's body continues sinking underneath the water. Trivia *Ducky remarks that the body in Tony's car couldn't be his because it didn't have the plague. This is a reference to what happened in the Season 2 episode, SWAK (episode). **When Ducky was explaining this to the team, Ziva asked if this occurred before her time, implying she had no prior knowledge of Tony contracting the disease, but in the season 4 episode Driven while Tony is maintaining his cover with Jeanne Benoit, Ziva grows concerned about Tony's health and towards the end of the episode is researching Y. pestis, telling Gibbs about the damage it can cause and that Tony once had it, to which Gibbs replied he already knew as he was there. *Unlike previous seasons, the opening sequence is now shorted to an even 30 second duration instead of the normal 37–44 second duration in the previous seasons. Also from this episode onwards, the phoof is changed so that it would end on a different one compared to the one originally shown in the first "preview". *When Ziva talks to McGee, she remarks that Tony was supposed to meet them at the bar, hinting that the events in this episode take place on a Saturday and that a day has passed since the events in the Season 4 finale episode, Angel of Death (episode). Cast Series Regulars Recurring Cast Other Cast Category:NCIS Episodes Category:NCIS Season 5 Episodes Category:NCIS Season Premiere Episodes Category:NCIS Episodes written by Shane Brennan Category:NCIS Episodes directed by Thomas J. Wright Category:NCIS Episodes featuring Tobias Fornell Category:NCIS Episodes featuring René Benoit Category:NCIS Episodes featuring Jeanne Benoit Category:NCIS Episodes featuring Trent Kort